The Vision
"...to provide a Christian mentor to everyone who wants one."
The Mission
"Many kids are struggling. They are lost, confused, and distracted. Center for Champions provides Christian mentors who show up and show love to kids. As a result, kids have a friend they can trust, who will be a positive influence in their lives, and who will point them to Jesus."
In The Beginning...
From its humble beginnings in 1998 as an outreach to the inner-city youth in Allison Hill, Denise Wendle and Bonnie Lonski planted the seeds for what we know today as the Center for Champions. But it wasn't without some help. The early days consisted of (I'm pretty sure) prayerful consideration and contacting people with experience and resources that these two women couldn't possibly have done on their own. It doesn't necessarily take a village; it takes the Church.
Over the last 27 years, Center for Champions experienced three moves and a couple of leadership changes until 2014, when Denise Wendle passed the torch on to Jeff Bruce, who has been the full-time director ever since. Jeff brought on one-on-one mentoring, which has likely shaped every program since.
Why our Church Supports Center for Champions...
It's the programs! Like...
ROOTED - ROOTED is our weekly program for matches to attend. Each match is on a team for the year. They participate in a high-energy team competition, Digging Deeper, which is our lesson from scripture, one-on-one discussion, and a life skills challenge ranging from cooking to STEM activities, basic car repairs, job preparation, and more. Students who are not matched come as well and sit in with volunteers from Messiah University and other community volunteers, sometimes even from Living Water.
Family Outreach—The parents of every enrolled student are invited to our Family Outreach activities. These include a monthly brunch where parents have an opportunity for fellowship, Bible study, and sometimes a guest speaker (like Mike Bongo!). Parents also have the opportunity to attend conferences and workshops. Many families also receive a weekly food delivery from CFC.
LIFE on LIFE activities - four to six times a year, Center for Champions provides an activity for matches to attend. We've done things like indoor rock climbing, snow tubing, a Ninja Warrior course, Indian Echo Caverns, and more. These are great opportunities for matches to build memories.
Beyond CFC—our newest addition is a program for 11th-grade students through graduates. We meet once a month with this group to help them determine their mission and purpose and plan for their future. We want to see students thrive post-graduation and glorify God with their lives.
How Can You Help?
Be a mentor - take your faith to a different level and have a one-on-one relationship with students who need it the most. We won't ask for a commitment until you're ready to be matched.
Be a volunteer - discover other ways to use your spiritual gifts!
Check out this link for more information about having a hands-on role:
Make a financial contribution -
Let's End in a Word of Prayer...
These are specific things that you can be praying for:
For the Lord to provide more mentors.
For students to repent and believe.
For our older students (11th grade through graduates) to live a life of purpose and not fall into some of the habits they've seen growing up, like drugs, alcohol, choosing not to work, and sexual impurity.
And A Challenge:
With several of our fellow church worshippers already investing their time into Center For Champions, how can we at Living Water make a more significant footprint on this neighboring missionary of the streets? I encourage you to join Pierre, Mike Bongo, Pastor James, and Kurt in supporting this invaluable ministry.
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